State of the Franchise - Jacksonville Jaguars

State of the Franchise – Jacksonville Jaguars

2017 Record: 10-6 (1st AFC South)

Last Playoff Appearance: 2017 (Lost AFC Championship Game to Patriots)

Head Coach: Doug Marrone (2nd Season)

General Manager: David Caldwell (5th Season)

2017 Performance

2017 saw the Jaguars return to the Playoffs for the first time in a decade and reach the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 1999. As the NFL’s surprise package of the year, #Sacksonville came up just short of a historic Superbowl on the back of the League’s best defense.

Prior to the 2017 season, Jacksonville appointed Tom Coughlin as their Executive Vice President of Football Operations- one of the most highly-rated minds in Football. Coughlin, two time Superbowl winning coach with the New York Giants, returned to the franchise he coached for their first nine years; leading them to back-to-back division titles in ’98 and ’99. A real statement of intent going in to the season from the Jaguars.

With the Fourth Overall Pick in the 2017 Draft, the Jaguars selected Leonard Fournette. The running back from LSU was the top rushing prospect in the Draft after an illustrious career in Fort Lauderdale. Fournette made an immediate impact rushing for 100 yards and a TD in the Opening Day victory against the previous year’s Divisional Champions, the Houston Texans.

The Jaguars made an indifferent start to the season going 3-3 through the first six weeks. Highlights included dominant victories in London vs the Ravens and in Pittsburgh over the Steelers. However, frustrating defeats to the Titans, Rams and above all the Jets (THE JETS IN OT!!) stopped the Jaguars from developing any momentum.

Week 7, on the road at division rivals the Indianapolis Colts was “make-or-break” for the Jags’ season. A lowly 2-4 Colts team, who’s only victories had come against winless franchises, the Browns and the 49ers, could have proven to be a stumbling block for the inconsistent Jags. However, TJ Yeldon’s 122 yards and a TD performance combined with further staunch defense saw the Jags shutout the Colts and go into the bye-week with a 4-3 record, having already eclipsed the total number of wins from the previous season.

After the bye-week, the Jags won six of seven with the sole defeat to the Cardinals on a last-minute, 57 yard field goal from Phil Dawson, 24-27. Wins against the Seahawks (24-30) and again the Texans (7-45) saw the Jags clinch their first playoff berth since 2007. Jacksonville finished AFC South Champions for the first time in franchise history with a record of 10-6 setting up an AFC Wildcard game against the Buffalo Bills who, themselves, ended their long playoff drought.

A heavy reliance on defense led the Jaguars to the postseason and this continued into the Playoffs. The defense accounted for two sacks and two interceptions whilst limiting the Bills to a meagre three points in a 10-3 victory. Bortles showed potential as a dual threat but only provided 87 yards and 1 TD through the air compared to his 88 yards rushing.

Victory at home led the Jaguars to Pittsburgh; who they had already knocked off in Week 5- but this was Playoff Football. Ben Roethlisberger threw five INTs in the regular season game and everyone knew that was not going to happen again. With few giving the Jags a chance at Heinz Field, the visitors rushed out to a 21-0 early in the second as the game developed, somewhat surprisingly, into a wild offensive shoot-out. This time, Roethlisberger threw five touchdowns and a solitary interception but his offensive display was not enough to get by the Jags who rode a career game from rookie Fournette with three touchdowns and 119 all purpose yards along with a huge 50 yard fumble return for a TD from Telvin Smith The Jaguars took the win on the road 45-42 and marched on to Foxborough to take on the defending champs, the New England Patriots.

In the AFC Championship Game, the Jaguars were near-perfect but, to beat Tom Brady and the Pats, near-perfect is often not good enough. #Sacksonville held the Pats to ten points through 56 minutes and sacked Brady three times. Bortles threw for a tidy 293 yards with a TD and Fournette rushed for 76 yards, rumbling his way in to the end zone once. Everything went, almost, according to plan but the GOAT had other ideas. The ever-reliant Jacksonville defense was unable to stop Brady and the Patriots twice in the final four minutes as Danny Amendola caught the game-winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. Sometimes football is just not fair.

A 24-20 defeat to the Patriots brought an end to a rollercoaster season for the Florida-based franchise who are still yet to make a Superbowl appearance. A team built around young stars and rising talent seems set to be a contending force and to build on last year’s success heading in to the 2018 season.

2018 Roster Moves

After a successful 2017, the Jaguars were able to keep the main core of that roster together with a lot of players now in their second seasons in the League.

Many of the rumours surrounding the Jaguars were linked to Blake Bortles. There has long been a question mark over the 3rd Overall Pick in the 2014 Draft and, following the performance of the Jaguars this year, it had been rumoured they would look to upgrade at QB. However, the Jags opted to commit to Bortles signing him to a three year extension worth $54 million.

Those on the way out included wide receivers, Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson. Robinson headed to Chicago after injuring his ACL in the 2017 season opener which meant he missed the remainder of the season. Paul Posluszny retired from the NFL after 11 years in the league, seven of those in Jacksonville. Aaron Colvin (CB), Marcedes Lewis (TE), Chris Ivory (RB) and Patrick Omameh (OG) also left in Free Agency.

With the departure of Omameh at left guard, the Jags grabbed Carolina Panthers free-agent Andrew Norwell, signing him to a 5-year, $66.5 million contract. The First Team All-Pro left guard of last season is a major upgrade on the offensive line; providing a platform for Leonard Fournette to dominate from scrimmage.

The addition of pass catchers, Donte Moncrief (Colts) and Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Giants) provide new targets with good athleticism downfield for Bortles to use. However, neither have proven themselves as dependable assets in their careers so far. They will be working alongside the experienced wide receiver, Marqise Lee, who was resigned to a 4-year, $34 million deal. Niles Paul (Redskins) joins Seferian-Jenkins in the tight end corps, covering the workload of the departing Lewis as well as adding help on Special Teams.

On the defensive side, DJ Hayden (Lions) will replace Colvin at cornerback. Former Detroit teammate, defensive back Don Carey and safety, Cody Davis (LA Rams), will provide more depth in the secondary whilst strengthening the Special Teams unit.

The Draft saw the Jags use the 29th Overall pick to select Defensive Tackle, Taven Bryan from Florida. A top D-Line prospect no doubt; however, given the depth the Jaguars already have up front on the defensive side, Bryan only adds depth to an already talented group. If nothing else, Bryan will have time to develop behind starters Malik Jackson, Abry Jones, Marcell Dareus and Calais Campbell as the Jaguars will have decisions to make with personnel come next season.

Further picks brought in WR, DJ Chark from LSU, and Safety, Ronnie Harrison out of Alabama, in the 2nd and 3rd Rounds respectively. In a similar way to the acquisition of Bryan, both will add depth to areas of relative strength. Much of the build up to Free Agency and the draft involved whether or not the Jaguars would select a QB but that was put to bed when Bortles signed his new deal. However, Jacksonville did pick up Nebraska QB, Tanner Lee, in the sixth round who will compete with Cody Kessler (acquired from Cleveland in a trade) for the backup role.

2018 Starters

QB – Blake Bortles

RB1 – Leonard Fournette

RB2 – TJ Yeldon

WR1 – Marqise Lee

WR2 – Donte Moncrief

WR3 – Dede Westbrook

WR4 – Keelan Cole

TE1 – Austin Seferian-Jenkins

TE2 – Niles Paul

LT – Cam Robinson

LG – Andrew Norwell

C – Brandon Linder

RG – AJ Cann

RT – Jermey Parnell

DE1 – Yannick Ngakoue

DE2 – Calais Campbell

DE3 – Dante Fowler Jr.

DT1 – Malik Jackson

DT2 – Marcell Dareus

DT3 – Taven Bryan

WLB – Telvin Smith

SLB – Blair Brown

MLB – Myles Jack

CB1 – Jalen Ramsey

CB2 – AJ Bouye

CB3 (Nickel) – DJ Hayden

CB4 – Tyler Patmon

FS – Tashaun Gipson

SS – Barry Church

K – Josh Lambo

P – Logan Cooke (R)

LS – Carson Tinker

2018 Outlook

Based on the NFL strength of schedule, the Jaguars have the T-5th easiest schedule in the league. However, that is calculated from last year’s standings with the average opponent having a win percentage of .477. Upon further analysis of the Jags schedule, it soon becomes apparent that their road to the Superbowl is a lot harder than it appears on paper. Week 1 entails a visit to the New York Giants, a healthy Giants offense that possesses Eli Manning, Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr, Sterling Shepard amongst others will be a stern opening test for any defense.

It doesn’t get any easier as the Patriots, Titans and Sam Darnold’s Jets visit TIAA Bank Field in the following three weeks. Before facing Superbowl 52 Champions the Philadelphia Eagles in London, the Jaguars will visit the Chiefs and the Cowboys then host the Texans. Week 11 Sunday Night Football sees the Steelers in town for a rematch of the AFC Divisional Match. The Jaguars will close the regular season in Houston against the Texans.

As far as repeating last year’s success, the Jaguars will have their work cut out. Along with a tough looking schedule, the AFC South could be one of the most hotly contested divisions in football following their rivals acquisitions this offseason.

There is no hiding the fact the Jaguars have the fourth-best QB in their division. A healthy Andrew Luck is capable of making the Colts competitive but the question is, how healthy will he be? The Texans will have Deshaun Watson back to start the season after his blistering rookie season was cut short by an ACL tear; also ending the Texans postseason hopes. Deandre Hopkins has shown his ability to be a top pass-catcher in the League and the two had great chemistry before Watson got hurt.

They will also have JJ Watt back healthy and along with free agency signing, Tyrann Mathieu, the Houston defense will be a force to be reckoned with. Also in the division are the Tennessee Titans. A playoff team last time out, the Titans added Patriots duo: Malcom Butler and Dion Lewis who will provide veteran quality on both sides of the ball. The Titans also already have their franchise QB in Marcus Mariota who clearly doesn’t need wide receivers as he proved he can catch his own touchdown passes (* see 2017 playoff victory over the Chiefs)

Bottom Line

If the Jaguars want to go one better this year they will need some luck. Last year, other than Allen Robinson, they were pretty much unscathed by the injury curse that befell many of the league’s stars. Looking at their lineup, they have an explosive threat in the backfield in Leonard Fournette but the passing game looks weak both in the pocket and downfield.

Upgrades to the offensive line will be welcome in the shape of Andrew Norwell and a lot of their offensive performance will be on his shoulders. The defense, once again, will have to be the driving force if they are to win games this year. A star studded defensive line including Malik Jackson, Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell. The Secondary of Jalen Ramsey, AJ Bouye, Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson will certainly provide the Jaguars with the best chance to win games if their offense fails to produce the goods.